Apple pie with a Swedish twist

Swedes love baking and they have some sort of fever for pies. I have always associate baking with winter, but pies can be eaten all around the year, varying the filling. Apple pie is one of the classics but there are many different recipes. The recipe below has a Swedish twist: cardamom seeds, also a classic in Swedish baked goods. The result was a super delicious apple pie and a recipe that turned out very simple and fast to make. 

Ingredients (26 cm diameter):
30 min + 20 min baking

Base:
175 g butter, room temperature
1 dl sugar
3 dl flour
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt

Filling:
3-4 apples
25 g butter
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp cardamom seeds (black part inside the green pods), crushed in mortar and pestle

Lemon glaze:
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp lemon juice

1. Base Preheat the oven to 200 ºC. Whisk butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix the dry ingredients until well combined. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and quickly combine into a dough. Transfer to a pie form and press evenly.

2. Filling Cut the apples in quarters and remove the seeds. Chop each quarter into slices. Lay the slices in two circles over the dough. Spread on top the butter, the sugar and the cardamom.

3. Bake the pie in the center of the oven for 20 minutes or until the apples are golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

4. Mix honey and lemon juice. Brush over the pie. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Baked Chicken Nuggets and Root Vegetables with Dill Sauce

I love chicken nuggets, especially when they are crispy. Until I found this recipe, I thought that to get the right crispiness one had to fried the nuggets. Now I found a way to get super yummy and crunchy chicken nuggets and I want to share it with you. The trick is to use panko instead of regular breadcrumbs. Yes, it was as simple as that.

Ingredients (3 people):

40 min.

400g chicken breast

1 cup maizena flour

2 ägg

1 cup panko

2 carrots

2 sweet potatoes

10-15 brussels sprouts

1 dl greek yoghurt

1 tsp mustard

Dill

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

1. Pre-heat the oven to 225 ºC. Cut the chicken breasts into long fingers, of about 3 cm width. Salt them. On separated plates place flour, beaten eggs and panko season with pepper. Roll each chicken finger individually in first the flour, then the egg and then panko and pepper mixture. Place the nuggets on half of an oven tray pre-arranged with baking paper. Set aside.

2. Chop the potatoes and carrots into thin matchsticks pieces. Mix with olive oil and salt. Transfer to the empty half of the oven tray. Place the tray in the middle of the oven and cook for 20 min. turning the nuggets around half way through. 

3. Meanwhile, halve the brussels sprouts and mix with salt and pepper. Place them in the oven with 10 minutes to go (when you turn the chicken nuggets around).

4. Prepare the dipping sauce by mixing the yoghurt, mustard and dill. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

5. Garnish the nuggets and vegetables with extra dill and serve with the sauce.

Parmesan Chicken Gratin

There's nothing better than a good cheese crust, especially if it is of Parmesan cheese. This recipe combines the cheesy crust, with creamy spinach and tasty chicken. It is perfect for a midweek winter dinner.

Ingredients (serves 4):
4 chicken file
500g frozen spinach, defrost in advance
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
75 g Parmesan, grated
1 1/2 dl cream
1/2 tbsp dijon mustard
1 dl chicken stock
1 garlic clove, minced

Salad, rice to serve

1. Set the oven to 225 ºC. Squeeze out the water from the spinach. Lay them on a slightly buttered oven tray.

2. Seal the chicken file on a frying pan, just until they get colours all around. Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper. Lay over the spinach.

3. In a saucepan add the cream, stock, mustard, garlic lemon juice, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and remove from the heat. Drizzle over the chicken and spinach. Spread the parmesan on top.

4. Put the tray in the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes. The chicken should be cooked through and the parmesan should form a crust.

5. Serve with a mixed salad and white rice.

Tips: The parmesan cheese adds a salty flavour to the dish, so the creamy mixture can be slightly under salted. 


*Inspired by recipe in Allt om Mat, Sweden

Baked Apple Tosca

Apple season is here and we got a bag full of freshly picked ones. It was difficult to choose which recipe to do first but when I saw the one for Baked Apple Tosca I just had to try it! It was a first for me but definitely not a last...

Ingredients (2 people):
4 small (or 2 big) firm apples
20 g butter, room temperature
1 dl almond slices
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp potato flour (or maizena)
Salt

1. Set on the oven to 175 ºC. Cut the apples in halves and remove the core with a small spoon. Lay the apple halves, cut side up, on a slightly buttered oven tray. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 10 min. (or 15 min. if you use big apples).

2. Mix butter, almond slices, sugar, honey, flour and a pinch of salt.

3. Remove the apple halves from the oven and set the oven to 225 ºC.

4. Spread the almond mixture in the center and on top of the apples. Bake in the center of the oven for 15 min. or until the tops get golden.

5. Allow to cool down a few minutes and serve with vanilla ice cream.


*Recipe adapted from Buffé magazine, distributed by ICA Sweden.

Milk Bread

Milk bread reminds me of my home country: Portugal. I remember growing up eating this fluffy and slightly sweet bread with ham and cheese or butter and jam. Now that I live abroad, I decided to make my own milk bread buns. Besides the normal breakfast/snack use, I also tried them with chicken burgers (recipe here) and it was fantastic! Now that I saw how easy it is to make these buns myself, I will hardly buy burger buns again. It also works with hot dogs.

Ingredients (12 round buns):
500 g flour
50 g sugar
40 g butter
220 ml milk
20 g fresh yeast
1 egg
1 pinch of salt
1 egg yolk, beaten

1. Heat up the milk to lukewarm and dissolve the yeast in it. It's important that the milk is not to hot, to not deactivate the yeast.

2. In a bowl, mix the flour, sugar and butter pieces. Slowly add the milk and mix with your hand. Add the whole egg and a pinch of salt and mix well. Knead well until the mixture is homogeneous and it doesn't stick to your hands anymore. Add more flour if needed.

3. Make a ball with the dough, leave it in the bowl, cover with a clothe and let it prove for an hour.

4. Afterwards, make buns of about 80g each. Place the buns on an oven tray lined with baking paper. Let them prove for another hour. 15 minutes before time is up turn on the oven to heat to 180 ºC. Brush each bun's top with the egg yolk. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

Note: You can increase the amount of sugar if you are looking for a more sweet bread. I prefer mine less sweet.

Inspired by the recipe found at Sweet Gula.

Healthy Baked Potatoes

It all started with a big piece of ham getting old in the fridge. After discussing a bit we got the idea of making baked potatoes. By mixing sweet and normal potatoes we got a more colorful and rich in taste filling. The filled sweet potato taste quite different itself from the other ones, but both versions were delicious. You can find out yourself which version you prefer and change the ratios if you like, or use only one kind. Enjoy!

Ingredients (serves 4):
3 King Eduard + 1 sweet potatoes
1/2 red onion, chopped
150 g pork ham, cubed
Small bunch of spinach
3 tbsp quark
4 tbsp natural yoghurt
1/2 cup sweet corn
1/4 cup parmesan, grated
Fresh chives
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 220 ºC. Wash and prick with a fork the potatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Bake the potatoes in the oven for 45-60 minutes. They are ready when you can stick a fork to the middle of the potato.

2. In the meantime prepare the fillings. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a skillet and cook onion until soft. Add cubed ham and cook until it starts getting golden. Set aside and whip the skillet with paper. 

3. Return skillet to the stove. Add washed spinach still wet. Cook until wilted, 1-2 minutes. Cool down under running water. Squeeze excess of water and chop.

4. In a bowl mix quark, yoghurt, corn, spinach, and parmesan. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

5. When the potatoes are done cut out a lengthwise slice of about 1/4 of each potato. Remove a few spoons of the pulp of the potato, leaving a thick shell. Add the potato pulp to mixture prepared in 4. Check the seasoning.

6. Fill the baked potatoes with the filling. Top with the cubed ham and decorate with fresh chives. 

Note: For a vegetarian version simply remove the ham. 

Glen's Bourguignon Burger

When we were in New York City we visited Chelsea market. It's a great place for food lovers with shops and stalls where one can buy and eat a little bit of everything. Of course I had to buy their cookbook because everything looked delicious and I wanted to be able to try some of the recipes myself. Glen's Bourguignon Burger was the first one I tried and what a great start. The wine-soaked mushrooms are simply to die for. I'm serious... go and try them!

Ingredients (serves 4):
650 g minced meat
280g sliced mushrooms
2 tbsp shallots, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
120 ml of hearty red wine, such as Shiraz
1/2 tsp fresh thyme leaves, chopped
4 burger buns, split
4 tbsp Dijon mustard
Bunch of rocket
4 large tomato slices
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt
Pepper

1. Season the minced meat with 1 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp of pepper and mix it gently but thoroughly. Shape it into four patties.

2. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and cook for about 8-10 minutes or until they start to brown. Add shallots and onion and allow to cook until tender. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and wipe out the skillet with paper.

3. Cook the patties on the same skillet without adding more oil. Don't move the patties until the underside is well browned, about 3 minutes. Flip the patties and cook the other side and browned with the center still soft to the touch (to get medium-rare). Transfer cooked patties to a plate and pour away the fat in the skillet.

4. Return mushrooms to the skillet. Add wine and thyme. Bring the mixture to a boil, scraping up the brown bits left in the bottom of the pan. Cook for about 2 minutes or until wine is reduced to a glaze. Adjust seasoning if needed.

5. Preheat the broiler/grill and grill the cut side of the burger buns until lightly toasted. Spread the bun with mustard and put a patty on top. Top with 1/4 of the mushroom mixture, a handful of rocket and a tomato slice. Add the bun top. Serve with fries.

*Adapted from Chelsea Market cookbook.

Yaki Soba

Continuing on our journey to learn more about asian cuisine we tried one of the most known Japanese dish: yaki soba. I got the recipe from a cookbook with recipes from one of my favourite asian restaurants, Wagamama. We love Wagamama tasty and healthy dishes, especially when sided by their super delicious juices. I'm not sure our yaki soba was as good, but it was close enough.

Ingredients (serves 2):

Yaki soba sauce
100 ml light soy sauce
2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp dark soy sauce

Yaki soba
110g of egg noodles
2 tbsp yaki soba sauce 
1 small onion, cut into half moon slices
4 spring onions, cut into 2.5 cm length
Large handful of beansprouts
15 small cooked peeled prawns
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into stripes
1/2 red pepper, cut into cubes
1/2 green pepper, cut into cubes
2 eggs, beaten

To serve
Pickled ginger
Dried onion flakes
Sesame seeds

1. Put all the sauce ingredients into a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Allow to cool.

2. Cook the noodles in boiling water for 1 minute less than indicated in the package (2-3 minutes), until just tender. Drain and refresh with cold running water.

3. Put the onion, spring onion, beansprouts, prawns and yaki soba sauce in a large bowl. Mix in the cooked noodles.

4. Heat a wok over medium heat until completely hot and almost smoking (a really hot wok is essential!). Add vegetable oil. Add chicken and peppers, and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add noodles and vegetables mixture to the wok and stir fry for 3 minutes, until warmed through. Add the eggs and continue to stir fry for another minute or until the eggs are cooked through.

5. Serve with pickled ginger, dried onion flakes and sesame seeds.

Notes: The yaki soba sauce can be kept in the fridge for a few weeks. The original recipe calls for soba noodles. My sauce did not have dark soy sauce and it was also good.

*Adapted from Wagamama cookbook.

Tandoori Chicken Kebab's

We like Indian food and all its variety of spices and flavours. In our first attempt to cook an Indian dish at home we tried this Tandoori Chicken Kebab's. The dish is originally from the Punjab region, where it is traditionally cooked in clay ovens known as tandoors. Great choice for a first time because it was really tasty and simple!

Ingredients (4 people):

4 skinless chicken breast fillets
1 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp tandoori paste
3 tbsp plain yoghurt
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped and some more to garnish
1 onion, cut into wedges and separated into layers
Olive oil, for brushing
Salt
Black pepper
Pilau rice, to serve

1. Chop the chicken breast fillets into 2.5 cm cubes and place them in a bowl. Add lemon juice, tandoori paste, yoghurt, garlic and coriander. Season with salt and pepper. Stir well. Cover the bowl with cling film and leave it in the fridge to marinate for 2 or 3h, stirring occasionally. 

2. Thread alternate pieces of marinated chicken and the onion wedges brushed with olive oil on to four large skewers. Preheat the grill. Lay the kebabs on the grill and cook under high heat, for 10-12 minutes, turning once. 

3. Transfer to warmed plates, garnish the kebabs with fresh coriander and serve with pilau rice. 

Notes: It was suggested to be served with a yogurt dip as well (yoghurt, chopped cucumber and mint). Since the dish was not spicy we didn't think it was needed.

Honey Garlic Salmon

Australian cuisine is full of asian influences and it owes some of the more interesting fusion dishes we have came across. Unfortunately, we have only visited the country shortly but, fortunately, that was enough to entice us to try more recipes from down under. This recipe was a recent find and it immediately climbed up to the top of our favourite dishes! It combines salmon with a punchy sauce and it's so easy to make that you won't even believe it. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did (and do)!

Ingredients (serves 2):

2 salmon fillets

Sauce

1 teaspoon garlic, minced

½ teaspoon ginger, minced

4 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1. Combine the sauce ingredients and marinate the salmon in the sauce for 15-30 minutes.

2. Arrange salmon on an oven tray lined with a baking paper sheet and bake at 180 ºC about 12 minutes or until it's just cooked through (see note), basting the salmon with the leftover marinade halfway through.

3. Over medium high heat, bring the leftover marinade sauce to a boil and simmer for 3-5 minutes until reduced.

4. Dish and serve the salmon hot drizzled with reduced sauce.

Note: We served the salmon with peas and pak choi. The cooking time of salmon depends a lot on the thickness of the fillets. You can estimate the time as 10 minutes per inch of thickness.

Chicken legs in Curry Sauce

Simone Ortega is the author of probably the most famous Spanish cookbook "1080 recipes". In the book one can find a little bit of everything, as Spanish people like travelling and that is reflected on what they eat on a daily basis. This recipe of chicken in curry sauce was based on a recipe I found in this book, given to me by a Spanish friend. It was easy to make and the result was very tasty. Go ahead and try it!

Ingredients (4 people):

4 Chicken legs (whole)
Olive oil
Liquid butter
Salt
Pepper
Rice and frozen peas, to serve

Sauce
1 tbsp corn flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp liquid butter
125 ml cold milk
250 ml chicken stock
1/2 tsp curry powder

1. For the sauce, heat up the butter and olive oil in a sauce pan. Add the flour and mix well until incorporated. Slowly, add the milk and afterwards the stock, always stirring. Allow to cook for about 10 minutes. Add curry powder. Add salt to taste. 

2. Season the chicken legs with salt. Heat up a drizzle of olive oil and a drizzle of liquid butter in a thick bottomed frying pan or a casserole. Put the chicken legs inside and cook until is golden on all sides. Reduce the heat to medium, cover the frying pan and cook for about 10 minutes or until the legs are cooked through. 

3. Steam some white rice. Add frozen peas when it's almost cooked and mix. Remove from the heat.

4. Serve the chicken with the rice and pour the sauce on top. Serve immediately.

Note: Instead of ready chicken stock you can boil some chicken bones in salted water for 1h or until it reduces to about 1 cup, as described in the original recipe.

Sweet & Sour Chicken

When it comes to asian food we are great admirers but not experienced cooks. We want to change that. Nowadays, one can find a whole range of asian products in the supermarkets around the world and cooking asian food becomes achievable and easy. One of our favourite Chinese dishes is Sweet & Sour chicken. The recipe is probably not that very much Chinese, but more of a westernised version of the dish, commonly found in Chinese restaurants in Europe. Either way we enjoyed it a lot and we will make it again.

Ingredients (4 people):

1 tablespoon cornflour

1/4 cup soy sauce

380g can of pineapple in natural juice, drained and reserving juice

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon olive oil

500g chicken breast, cut into cubes

1 small green capsicum, cut into pieces

1 small red capsicum, cut into pieces

3 cm piece of ginger, peeled and grated

2 garlic cloves, crushed

Steamed jasmine rice, to serve

1. Combine cornflour and soy sauce in a jug. Stir until mixture is smooth. Add reserved pineapple juice, vinegar and sugar. Stir until sugar has dissolved.

2. Heat oil in a non-stick frying pan or wok over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until each side is light golden (about 5 minutes).

3. Add capsicum, ginger and garlic to the pan. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until tender. Add soy sauce mixture to pan and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add pineapple pieces. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until sauce has thickened and chicken is cooked through. Serve with rice.

Spaghetti Carbonara

Simple. Easy. Delicious.

Ingredients (4 people):

5 egg yolks

60 g Parmesan cheese, plus some more to serve, grated

200 g piece of ham, diced

300 g spaghetti

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed with hand

Olive oil

Black pepper

Salt

1. Put the egg yolks into a bowl, add the Parmesan and season with pepper. Mix well using a fork and set aside.

2. Cook the spaghetti in a large pan of boiling salted water until al dente. Meanwhile, heat up a tablespoon of olive oil in a medium frying pan. Place the frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the garlic cloves and leave it to flavour the fat for a minute. Stir in the ham and cook for 4 minutes, or until it starts to crisp up.

3. Pick out and discard the garlic from the pan, then, reserving some of the cooking water, drain and add the spaghetti. Toss well over the heat so it really soaks up all the flavours. Remove the pan from the heat. Add a splash of the cooking water and toss well and season with pepper. Pour in the egg mixture – the pan will help to cook the egg gently, rather than scrambling it. Toss well, adding more cooking water until it’s lovely and glossy. Serve with grated Parmesan and an extra twist of pepper.

Note: It’s traditional to use spaghetti in this recipe, but other kinds of pasta may as well be used. Jamie Oliver suggests bucatini or rigatoni. We suggest tagliatelle as well. The original recipe used pancetta instead of ham.